Killer of Wilson High School sophomore pleads guilty, avoids death chamber

LONG BEACH — A man already on death row for the murder and sexual assault of a 14-year-old Fresno girl pleaded guilty Wednesday to the 1989 murder of a 15-year-old Wilson High School sophomore.

Royal Clark, 50, entered the guilty plea in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Had he been convicted on all counts, Clark could have received the death penalty.

Clark also admitted using an electrical cord when he strangled 15-year-old Danielle Marie Haddon on or about Oct. 30, 1989, in her grandmother's home.

The teen was talking on the phone with a friend when she thought she heard someone at the door. Her body was discovered inside the apartment after her grandmother got home from work, according to the criminal complaint.

The case, however, remained unsolved for years, until a federal grant allowed Long Beach Police Department Cold Case detectives to run evidence found at the scene for a possible DNA match.

Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell credited the grant with helping police find a suspect who would have otherwise never been found.

Clark, who was 27 at the time of the murder, was awaiting execution on San Quentin's Death Row when police announced the break in the case earlier this year. He was sentenced to death following his 1991 conviction on first-degree murder for the strangulation and attempted rape of 14-year-old Laurie Farcas of Fresno. He also has a prior conviction from 1985 for robbery on his record.

Clark is scheduled to return to the Long Beach Superior Court on April 26, for formal sentencing. As part of the plea agreement he can't file an appeal.